telling cast iron from cast steel?

Take a look at the fracture. If it is coarse grained, it may be cast iron (not a sure test, but a useful clue). Take a shaving from a smooth part of it with a sharp tool. Steel should produce a shaving almost like a wood shaving. Cast iron will just crumble. Do a spark test. Touch a grinder to the piece, then compare the sparks produced to the sparks from known pieces of cast iron and steel.

If you're still uncertain, treat it as if it were cast iron. Nickel rod will work on both cast iron and cast steel.

Gary

"Gary Coffman" wrote: (clip) If you're still uncertain, treat it as if it were cast iron. Nickel rod will work on both cast iron and cast steel. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Did it break all at once, in a brittle fracture, or are there signs that a small crack developed by fatigue? Cast iron seems like a poor choice of materials for a trailer hitch, since it has no tensile strength, and, it fails suddenly and completely. Gary's advice seems very good. The only additional suggestion I would make would be to examine the possibility of adding some steel reenforcement when you weld it, so it does not happen again.

The pickup points for tractor 3 pt hitches are often cast iron. They're often integral to the rear casting. Sometimes they break, but usually they are of sufficient section thickness that they have to be woefully abused to do so. The top link pickup point for the Ford 800 series immediately comes to mind. It usually holds up well, but sometimes an overzealous operator will put too much stress on it, and it will fracture. Welding them back on with Ni rod is usually a satisfactory fix.

Gary

I didn't know I was overzealous. I've broken this very part on two different Ford tractors.

Karl

On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 01:26:02 GMT, "Karl Townsend" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!: remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Definition: Overzealous:- "One who breaks that part....twice!"

I went on a guided tour not long ago.The guide got us lost. He was a non-compass mentor.........sorry ........no I'm not.

Heh, heh! Definition of 'Bonehead': One who breaks that part.... three times!! :)

Cast steel is hard stuff, and you can sometimes identify it just because it's hard to grind. I used to rebuild air compressors, and an English model used a cast steel cylinder barrel that took twice or three times as long to hone .010" oversize as cast iron cylinders would take. That cylinder was about the last thing that would wear out on that compressor.

Dan